The butterflyfish is a generally small sized species of marine fish, found in tropical and subtropical waters, primarily around coral reefs. The butterflyfish is well known for it's brightly coloured body and elaborate markings.

The average butterflyfish is fairly small and generally grows to around 4 or 5 inches in length. Some species of the butterflyfish however, are known to grow to 8 inches (20 cm) long and some butterflyfish individuals have been known to grow to 30 cm in length.

The butterflyfish can live for up to 10 years in a well kept aquarium but will only reach about 7 years old in the wild. The butterflyfish is a difficult fish to keep as they need very specific water conditions that need regular and close monitoring and so the butterflyfish is only found in specific water conditions in the wild.

Butterfly fish are diurnalanimals which means that they are feeding during the day and resting in the coral during the night. Most species of butterflyfish feed on the plankton in the water, coral and sea anemones and occasionally snack on small crustaceans . Those butterflyfishfish that primarily feed on the plankton in the water are generally the smaller species of butterflyfish and can be seen in large groups. The larger species of butterflyfish are fairly solitary or stay with their mating partner.

Butterfly fish are preyed upon by a number of large predators including fish such as snappers, eels and sharks. Due to the fact that the butterflyfish is small in size, it is able to tuck itself into crevices in the coral in order to escape danger and prevent itself from being eaten.

Butterfly fish form mating pairs that they remain with for life. Butterflyfish release their eggs into the water which form part of the plankton (it is because of this that many butterflyfish eggs are accidentally eaten by animals that live on plankton). When the eggs hatch, the baby butterflyfish (known as fry) develop armoured plates on their bodies to protect them when they are so vulnerable. As the butterflyfish gets, older these plates disappear. Butterflyfish have an average lifespan of 8 to 10 years although some of the larger butterflyfish species are known to get to much older.